


Past Regrets

by Skullharvester



Series: One-Shots (Ratchet & Clank) [6]
Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:27:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26876656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullharvester/pseuds/Skullharvester
Summary: Why was Qwark always such a bully?
Relationships: Captain Qwark/Dr. Nefarious, qwarkarious
Series: One-Shots (Ratchet & Clank) [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120196
Kudos: 5





	Past Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy and have fun! 
> 
> If you liked this tale, please drop me a kudos and/or a comment to let me know if you'd like to see more! 
> 
> Thank you, and have a wonderful night!

* * *

Under _no_ circumstances did Mr. Bozell _ever_ change his lab partner assignments after the first day of his 9th grade biology class began for the year. He paired students together for their strengths and their weaknesses, and even though two students in particular were proving to be an issue, he was adamant about sticking to his formula. 

Besides, it was obvious that they needed each other. Copernicus – most students just called him by his last name, Qwark, for short – had been held back a grade for the past two years now, but his reclusive lab partner Nefarious – yes that was his real name, the poor kid – could have benefited from his charisma. Meanwhile, Nefarious was probably Qwark’s only hope for finally passing on to the 10th grade. That is, if the two could just learn to get along.

“Mr. Bozell, he’s doing it again!” Nefarious piped up with a petulant whine, waving one hand in the air to get the teacher’s attention.

By the time Mr. Bozell had lowered the stylus in his hand and spun around from the holo-board with a sigh, Qwark was already back in his seat, whistling innocently. “You’ll have to be more specific,” he grumbled, knowing at this point that Qwark had a roster of usual antics.

The young green lad just pointed at the paper mache solar system that his lab partner had started constructing on the unsightly headgear that went along with his braces. Though it was doubtful that Nefarious himself had done that, there was no definitive proof that it was Qwark, despite him being the most likely suspect, unfortunately.

“Ah. Copernicus, leave your lab partner alone. I’m only warning you once this time. I don’t want to have to send you to the office again, when you should be here learning,” said the teacher before turning back around and proceeding with sketching out the diagram on the board while the class snickered and whispered among each other.

Nefarious looked horribly offended that his plight wasn’t taken more seriously. Hurt, even. With a sense of defeat, he just pitifully picked the wadded balls of paper off his headgear, wincing the whole time because he knew they were made wet with his lab partner’s spit.

Was it terrible that Qwark got such a thrill out of Nefarious’ entertaining reactions to his hazing? Qwark thought it was harmless fun, and something about the way Nefarious would act when he was annoyed by his behavior made him want to do it more often. Not out of cruelty. He didn’t hate Nefarious – far from it. 

Actually, he liked him a lot. To the point where if his peers among the other popular teens knew, he’d be rejected to solely hanging out with the outcasts, like Nefarious. That might not be so bad, but without his reputation, Qwark didn’t have much else going for him in terms of a future. 

He was incredibly strong, sure, but without connections, that might relegate him to factory or construction work for the rest of his life. Qwark didn’t care much for hard work, or the prospect of withering his good looks away by breaking himself down with difficult labor.

So, the only way he could ever express his affections for the scrawny green kid in his class was to pick on him relentlessly, and hope that one day Nefarious might figure out what it all meant. After all, Nefarious was a genius, so surely he’d put two and two together, right? Qwark hoped so.

But as the years went on, that wasn’t what happened. Instead, Nefarious grew to resent him more and more, to the point where he was almost obsessive with his hatred towards his high school bully. He ended becoming a super villain over it, for crying out loud! That wasn’t what Qwark intended at all. It made him regret a lot of what he’d done to torment Nefarious for his attention.

How did one bring all of this up, though, when the man who hated you had you strapped to a metal slab with a laser pointed just above your head, ready to cut you in two? It was hard for any apology to not sound disingenuous, really. Then again, Qwark very much liked living, so it was worth a shot.

“Hey, Nef?” he said, eyeing the laser, then the lanky super villain that was calibrating the laser with several dials, buttons, and switches at a box several feet away from himself.

Nefarious didn’t look up from his work. “ _What?_ ” he snapped.

“I know that I wasn’t kind to you when we were teenagers. Looking back, maybe I went too far with some of my –”

“Nice try, Qwark,” Nefarious grumbled, grabbing onto the large lever that powered the laser and turning it on.

As the red beam above Qwark’s head began to lower at a painfully slow pace, the hero squirmed in his bonds, panicked. “No, wait! I’m being serious here! The reason I gave you such a hard time was because I had a crush on you in high school!”

With an almost mortified expression, the villain flipped the lever for the laser back, shutting it down immediately with a loud hum as its charge depleted. “A-Alright, I can’t do this. This can’t be how I kill you. It’ll come back to haunt me,” he said, mostly to himself, as he shakily wobbled over towards the slab to undo the straps around Qwark’s wrists and legs.

“I knew you had a conscience!” Qwark smiled proudly, rubbing his wrists as he climbed of the hunk of metal with a slight groan of discomfort.

Nefarious rubbed his forehead, clenching his nearly immaculate teeth (the braces paid off after all) in frustration. “No, it’s not that. This is just too weird and awkward, and I’m going to pretend I didn’t even hear you say that.”

Qwark scratched his head in confusion as he cautiously approached his arch-nemesis, wondering if he was feeling alright. “So, you’re _not_ going to kill me?”

“Not like _this_!” Nefarious shrieked with his hands held up in exasperation. “Just get out of here, and we’ll both pretend this incident never happened.”

The hero pursed his lips, unsure of what to say. “Uhm… Same time next week, then?”

“Of _course_ , you dolt.” Nefarious pointed at the exit. “Now just get out of here!”

That wasn’t how Qwark expected his confession to be received, but considering it saved him from near-death, he couldn’t complain. 

He shuffled out the door, which his enemy’s robotic butler Lawrence helpfully opened for him and promised to himself that he’d try again to explain his feelings the next time he and Nefarious met. If nothing else, perhaps making kissy faces at the mad scientist would get him out of the next bind he got himself into. 

Qwark always had strange methods for escaping a bad situation, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Recommended Listening: Genghis Khan by Miike Snow


End file.
